Applicator



Dec. 20, 1960 1 LERNER ET AL APPLICATOR Filed Feb. 1'7, 1959 Fi One objectfof the present invention Unite-d States Patent AC 2.954.119, I `Jt.rlPPLrcAToR i L.riemeigichicsgo,,HelenE-Oberstar, Glen'llllyn,

*.ad Albert SafianoiL'Chicago'pIll., assignors to The GilletteCompany," Boston; `Mass., a 4ctn-poration of Delaware" f', y V It *"rl Y Filed reuifigrasafser. Nog 793,878 Y t disclaims; (cursi-136) Y Y This invention relates 'to an applicator for applying treating liquid to hair and"pertain's inorespeciiically to an applicator for localized application of'treating liquid to hairrfiri the formof pincurls. f f .f `In waving and dressing h' fr, it' is frequently desirable to japply' a `treating liquidftotthe hair while thefhair is held inthe" form of at spiral curls-Qbyrijleans `of pins extending `transversely of,` the curls parallel/to the head,

suchcurlsbeing commonly known as pin"curls.V For example, waving'lotion is frequently applied'to the hair inY the forirr'fo'f Apin curlsffollowed v by )application 'of neutralizerl solution. In the pastit has been difficult to .applysuch treating liquids toY pin curls, particularly on the back andsides' of the head, so `as 4to .provide thorough impregnation of the curl with the liquidlwithout having rexcess `liquid dropping on the'neck, shouldersgor clothjingof the person being treated.l

applicator of improved and simplified construction.4

Another object is to provide an applicator of 'the type 'described adapted toapplytreating liquid to pin curls 'while minimizing dripping ofexcessliquid. l

."Still,ano'ther objefct` is :to provide an applicz't'tor which prmotes' circulation of treating liquid thrpughout a is to provide an avoids deposition of alargej quantity of't'reating liquid Fig. 2`is aview in cross-section of the applicator shown in Fig. 1 on` an enlargediscalefpartlybroken away; V Fig. 3 isr aA view in elevation ofthe working, face of 'the applicatorof'Figs. l and 2 l. `l ""Fig."4 is a view in cross-section, partly broken away, on an enlarged scale showing the applicator of Fig. l being applied to a pin curl;

Fig. .5 is an isometric view of a modiliedv invention;

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of still a different embodiment; and

Fig. -8 is a view in cross-section taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

As appears in the drawing, the applicator of the present invention comprises a sponge element 10 which tapers in thickness from one side to the other, as best appears in !Fig. Z. The sponge element 10 may be any suitable open-celled sponge material which is inert to the treating liquids employed. Regenerated cellulose sponge form of the 2,964,770 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 ice t 2 has been foundtobe eminently suited for this purpose. The sponge element is preferablysomewhat greater in length and widththan the corresponding dimensions of the pin curls on 'which it is to be used. While the sponge element 10 may be circular in outline, as shown in Fig. 3, it may `also be polygonal if desired, as for example square or octagon'al.v In general, since the average pin curl is about v1 inch to 11A inches in diameter,v the sponge element should be somewhat greater in diameter; that is, from l1% to 1% inches in diameter or even somewhat larger ifpdesired. The angle at whichthe sponge element is tapered in thickness may be varied` from 10 to 45 measured as the included angle'at the thin, side of the sponge element.

The sponge element is seated in a cup which closely embraces"it, the cup having a bottom 12 and upstanding side walls 14 which var-y in height from one side to the other in conformity with the tapering thickness of the sponge element 10, as appears best in Fig. 2. The cup is preferably constructed of a ilexible, resilient, synthetic plastic material Vsuch as a vinyl resin plastic `or other elastic rubber-like material, which is inert to the treating liquids. The cup should possess, of course, suicient rigidity and strength to provide adequate supp ort for the sponge element 10 when the device is in use. V,In the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the sponge element 10 is secured in place in the cup by means of any suitable adhesive, such as latex cement.

VMeans for" introducing a treating liquid into the bottom of the cap is provided in the form ofan yaperture 16 in bottom wall 12 which opens into an inlet tube `18 `which, may ,be an integral part of the cup. It is important thataperture 16be located adjacentthe thick- 'est portion ofA sponge element 10 and remote from the thinnest portion. This arrangement ensures that any liquid'introduced through` aperture 16will come into contact `iirst with and be absorbed by the thickerlportion of ,sponge ,element 10 before it comes into contact with the thinner portion. Inlet tube 18 may be con- 'nected to a conventional resilient plastic squeeze bottle 20, as shown in Figjl, which serves as a container and source of supply -for the treating liquid. It will be understood that any, other suitable source of supply may be employed lforintroducing the treating liquid into the bottom `of the cup through inlet tube 18. f v

f As best shown in Figs. l and 4, the sponge element i 10 isfrst impregnated or permeated with the treating liquid by invertingthe assembled applicator and bottle, 'then gently squeezing' bottle ,20 to force the liquid through aperture 16. The applicator is thenpressed ,againstwa pinl curl 22 on the head, with the thick side of spongeele'rneritltl uppermost and the thin side toward vthe bottom. "In pressing the applicator against the pin curl the thicker portion of the sponge only cornes in contact with thev pin curl and is compressed there against so that the liquid with which the sponge is saturated is squeezed out onto the outer upper portion of the pin curl, as shown in Fig. 4, whence it llows along the individually spirally wound hair strands so Aas to permeate and penetrate thoroughly the entire mass of the hair contained in the pin curl. Any excess treating liquid above and beyond that which is required to permeate the pin curl is absorbed by the thinner uncompressed portion of the sponge adjacent its lower margin. It is believed that this absorption occurs by light contact between the lower portion of the pin curl, as seen in Fig. 4, and the lower portion of sponge element 10, without substantial compression of this porti-on of the sponge element, and that the thus-absorbed liquid in the lower portion of the sponge elements travels thence by capillary action into the upper and thicker portion when the compression of the latter is released. When the sponge element is again compressed against the pin curl, it is believed, this action is repeated. The continuous path of circulation for `the liquid which we believe is thus provided ensures complete and thorough penetration of the pin curl by the liquid.

It has been found that while the embodiment of the device as shown in Figs. l-4 of the drawing performs satisfactorily, the hair pins employedrto secure the pin curl in place sometimes interfere with adequate compression of the sponge element 10 because they become engaged by the wall 14 of the cup. In order to avoid this difliculty, wall 14 of the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may be cut away in spaced localized zones 24, 24 at the high side ofthe cup to a level below that of the adjacent face of the sponge element 10 in its normal uncompressed condition. The remaining narrow fingers 26, 26 which project upwardly at spaced intervals around the thicker portion of sponge element 10 serve adequately to restrain and support the liquid during use while the cut-away portions 24, 24 accommodate any hair pins which are present in the'pin curl.

Still another embodiment is shown in Fig 6 in which a single narrow localized zone of the higher sideof wall 14 is cut away at 28 to a level below that of the adjacent face of the sponge element 10 in its normal uncompressed condition. in addition, a narrow retaining band 30, preferably of the Same resilient ilexibility plastic material from which the cup itself is constructed, extends across the exposed face of sponge element 10 from the bottom of cut-away zone 28 to the margin of the cup at the opposite or lower side of sponge element 10. This retaining band 30 serves a dual function in that it retains sponge element 10` within the cup, thus eliminating the necessity for adhesive and making the sponge element readily replaceable, and also serves to prevent the face of sponge element 10 from coming into contact with the hair pin 32 (Fig. l)which normally extends 'transversely across each curl and substantially eliminate excessive flow of liquid along the length of the pin together with drippage from its end. During use of this embodiment of the invention the applicator must be positioned so that band 30 is aligned with hair pin 32. Cut-away zone 28 serves to accommodate an end of the hair pin whenV the latter is longer than the diameter of the applicator.

It is not essential that the operative face of the sponge element be smooth or flat; in the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the sponge element 40 tapers in thickness by a succession of steps 41, 42, 43, 44 each of which hasv a flat segmental face extending at right angles to side wall 14, the faces being connected by risers which are generally perpendicular Vto the faces. In this embodiment the included angle of the sponge element is measured .as the angle between the flat rear face of the sponge element and a plane extending through corresponding parts of successive steps.

It will be appreciated that although a squeeze bottle has been shown as a source of supply for the treating liquid so that the applicator "need only be inverted and the bottle gently equeezed inforder to saturate the sponge member with treating liquid, any other conventional source of supply may be employed and a pump may be used if desired to force the liquid into the rear of sponge element 10. In any event, the sponge element is first impregnated with treating liquid and the liquid is then transferred to the hair curl by compression of the thicker portion of the sponge element against it while the thinner side of the sponge element remains uncompressed and 4disposed at the bottom vof the applicator in position to re-absorb any excess treating liquid which ows down onto it, thus minimizing the drippage.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been herein described, it is not intended to limit the invention solely thereto, but to include all of the obvious modifications and limitations within the spirit and scope of the appended clams.

What is claimed is:

1. An applicator for applying treating liquidto the hair comprising a-sponge element tapering inthickness from one side to the other, a cup in which said sponge element is seated, the walls of said cup varying in height from one side to the other in conformity with the tapering thickness of said sponge element, and means for introducing said treating liquid into the bottom of said cup through a restricted aperture adjacent the thickest portion of said sponge element and remote from the thinnest portion thereof. l

2. An applicator as defined in claim 1 in which said cup has walls of resilient, llexible, synthetic plastic.

3. An applicator as defined in claim 2 in which. the walls of the cup at the high side are cut away at spaced intervals to a level below that of the adjacent face of the sponge elementV in its normal i uncompressed condition.

4. An applicator as defined in claim 2 in which the walls of the cup-at, the high. .side are cut away in a narrow zone to a level belowthat of the adjacent face of the sponge element in its normal uncompressed condition, and in'which a retaining band is provided extending across the face of said sponge element from the bottom of said cut-away zone at yone side of said cup to the other side thereof to hold said sponge element vseated in position.rv v

5. An applicator as defined in `claim 2 in which the open face of said sponge elementis smooth and flat. A

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Ian. 26. 1955 

